Travel to the realm of The Seven Kingdoms, murder, sex and intrigue are a daily part of life.

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Game of Thrones 2.1: The North Remembers

Game of Thrones 2.1: The North Remembers

With
the much anticipated third season only two months away, it is time to rewatch
and review season two of Game of Thrones
in order to prepare for the third installment. Season two had a lot to live up
to. The first season of Game of Thrones
gave us an assortment of diverse characters, graphic battle scenes, political
intrigue and even romance. The most important and shocking development of
season one (especially for those who did not previously read the books) was the
execution of the main character, Lord Eddard Stark. His death shifted the
course of many characters and made certain that wars broke out between the
different families with everyone staking a claim to the Iron Throne. Season two
starts where season one ended with the main characters scattered all across the
lands uncertain of their futures. Rob Stark is leading an army to avenge his
father’s death and destroy the Lannisters. He has captured Jaime Lannister, the
Kingslayer, who is Lord Tywin Lannister’s oldest son and uncle to Joffrey Baratheon,
King of the Seven Kingdoms. Rob’s mother Catelyn Stark rides with him and
serves as his counsel. Bron Stark, Lord Eddard’s second eldest son and crippled
by the Kingslayer remains at Winterfell serving as lord while Rob battles in
war. Sansa Stark resides at King’s Landing with Cersei Lannister, Queen Regent,
who masquerades her as Joffrey’s betrothed while really holding Lord Eddard
Stark’s oldest daughter as ransom for Jaime’s safety. Arya Stark has escaped
King’s Landing disguised as a boy making
her way north with recruits for The Wall. Jon Snow, Lord Eddard’s Stark’s
bastard son and sworn brother of the Night’s Watch is about to embark with his
brothers in black on a journey north of The Wall to try and stop whatever evil
forces may be heading towards the Seven Kingdoms. Tyrion Lannister, Tywin’s dwarf
son rejoined his father on the battlefield only to be commanded to return to
King’s Landing and act as Hand of the King while Tywin continues his fight
against Rob Stark. Finally Daenerys Targaryen and her dragon eggs survived
being burned with her deceased husband on his funeral pyre. She now leads what
is left of her people and her newly hatched dragons through the desert looking
for a way to build an army and reclaim the Iron Throne.

The first episode of season two, “The North
Remembers” basically reacquaints the audience with the characters and their
storylines. From Rob being declared King of the North, to Stannis Baratheon in
Dragonstone declaring himself as the rightful King of the Seven Kingdoms, to
Daenerys, even though stranded in the desert, claiming that she is the rightful
queen to sit upon the Iron Throne, the theme of this episode is described best
by Catelyn Stark when she tells her son Rob, “There’s a king in every corner
now.” This theme of everyone declaring themselves king or queen can even be
extended outside of the fictional world of the Seven Kingdoms and into the real
world set of Game of Thrones. The
death of Lord Eddard Stark, who was portrayed by Sean Bean, left an opening for
a new lead character. Bean, having come from the highly successful Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the
Rings, became of the star of the series. All of the other actors, though
they excel in their roles, were not as well-known at the start of the show. Now
that the series has critical acclaim and a large following, the actors now have
recognition and with Sean Bean’s character’s demise, there is an opening for a
new leading man or lady but who will ascend the ranks? One could think that
Peter Dinklage after receiving the Golden Globe and Primetime Emmy for his
performance as Tyrion Lannister would be the frontrunner to take Bean’s leading
role place. Though actors who portray other strong characters such as Daenerys
or Jon Snow could also lay claim to being the next big star of the show. Or
will this series morph this season into what it truly is: an ensemble drama
with brilliant actors of equal caliber shining through in their respective
roles with no one single star?

Finally, besides reuniting the viewer with the
characters they haven’t seen in many months and catching up with their
storylines as well as leaving them wondering who, if any, will take Sean Bean’s
place, this inaugural episode of the second season introduces the viewer to new
lands and new characters they can expect to meet during the remainder of the second
season. This starts in the opening credits, where a new land, Dragonstone, is
added to the other places on the map that the viewer got to know so well last
season. Also new characters such as Stannis Baratheon portrayed by Stephen
Dillane, his high priestess, Melisandre portrayed by Carice van Houten and his
second in command, Ser Davos Seaworth portrayed by Liam Cunningham are added to
the extensive cast. Though little is divulged in this episode about the
overarching storyline for these characters, one gets a sense that Melisandre is
a femme fatale trying to exert her influence on Stannis, a man of power.

This episode, though not as dramatic or action
packed as others during the show’s freshman year, was a good introduction back
into the world of Game of Thrones.
With so many characters and storylines, this episode was a refresher course
since the viewer was away from the show for so many months. With nine more
episodes left in the season, there is still plenty of time for action,
deception, and plot twists to emerge.